The first season of Cheyenne yielded 15 episodes, some of which were remakes of WB films. Others were what I refer to as "developmental" episodes, where Cheyenne's character is established. Star in the Dust falls into the latter category, and according to the dialogue is the first time he donned a badge. It's interesting to note that in a previous episode, The Travelers (S1, EP6), Cheyenne had already been a deputy, but that's explainable and is a discussion for another time.
After running into some trouble during a poker game, Cheyenne decides to stay and try his hand as a deputy to Sheriff Wes Garth (Megowan), who loves local beauty Claire Du Pas (Mara). However, Claire is only interested in money and refuses to marry Garth due to his lack of funds, but he continues to pursue her relentlessly. After he and Cheyenne split up to chase down a gang of bank robbers, Garth decides to keep the stolen money he finds as a way to win the gold-digging Claire's hand. But Claire is no good, and when Cheyenne discovers Garth has the money she offers to cross Garth and run away with Cheyenne and share the loot. Cheyenne is forced to confront Garth, who has lost his way as a result of his love for a woman that doesn't return the feeling.
Writer Douglas Heyes also had this same story produced for the series Laramie where the episode was called The Star Trail (S1, Ep5, 1959), which he also directed.
This is a very watchable episode, with a decent script and great cast. Although the plot was not what I consider particularly epic, director Richard Bare made the most of his cast and assembled a fun outing. Not much stock footage was needed for this one, mostly during the bank robbery chase sequences, and the scene where Garth is chasing a bank robber and jumps to his horse just before the horse and two riders go off a damaged bridge into the river was actually a scene from the Errol Flynn film San Antonio. This scene was used multiple times in different productions over the years, despite it being noticed easily by anyone who has seen the film.
Most of the recognizable cast members were repeat guest stars with the exception of Ian Wolfe (Charlie Peabody), including Don Megowan (Wes Garth), Adele Mara (Claire Du Pas), William Phipps (Jim Clements), Morris Ankrum (John Clements), Chris Alcaide (Deputy Hack), Tom Monroe (Bank Robber) and Mort Mills (Mike).
Don Megowan was a familiar face to fans of the Golden Age of TV Westerns, appearing on Cheyenne in 6 episodes. He appeared in dozens of guest roles on most all of the classic TV westerns, and although he appeared in a couple pilots for potential series they weren't picked up. As a result he never got the chance to helm his own series, unless you count The Beachcomber, where he took over the lead role after Cameron Mitchell departed. It's unfortunate he never achieved the success he pursued, but being 6'6" tall was not necessarily an advantage in that era. Nevertheless he stayed busy, often appearing as adversaries to taller leading men such as Clint Walker or James Arness. A good example is the Gunsmoke episode Phoebe Strunk, where he played one of the very large and *very* bad Strunk brood. His portrayal of conflicted sheriff Wes Garth was played competently.
Adele Mara...wow, what a beauty. She was 32 when she first appeared on Cheyenne in Border Showdown (S1, Ep4, 1955), and was breathtakingly gorgeous. She was also quite the talented actress, and by this time was acting more for personal enjoyment as she had married successful producer Roy Huggins in 1952. Of her 3 roles on Cheyenne, none were particularly sympathetic, but she played these characters extremely well. I've seen her in similar roles on shows such as Tales of Wells Fargo and Maverick, and I always enjoy any appearance she made. Star in the Dust is no exception, I couldn't take my eyes off her. For me she was the star of the show, and stole every scene she appeared.
Ian Wolfe is likely most familiar to fans as Mr. Atoz from the next to the last episode of Star Trek: TOS, All Our Yesterdays, but he had a very long career with more than 300 credits dating back to 1934. His role of town busybody Charlie Peabody is a real hoot, and it really compliments the episode nicely. "Oh, they're all bad, all three of 'em. There's gonna be trouble, I guarantee it".
William Phipps, Morris Ankrum, Mort Mills and Chris Alcaide have small roles, but as per typical they play their parts well, and their inclusion to the cast really rounds out the episode. I particularly enjoy Ankrum and Phipps here as with all their appearances in Cheyenne, they played some nasty characters in the series and really chewed the scenery in the process. Interesting that both are mostly remembered for their roles in classic Science Fiction films. Mort Mills appears briefly in one of his three roles in the series, and was also a very familiar face in the westerns genre, playing roles across the full range of the spectrum, from sympathetic to villainous and from dramatic to comedic.
A good episode with a great cast featuring Don Megowan and the very lovely Adele Mara, with Cheyenne well on the way to developing his character.
